


The Price of Instinct

by ericsonclan



Series: A Pirate's Life For Me AU [30]
Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Action Dueling, Alternate Universe - Pirate, Gen, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:27:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25448356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ericsonclan/pseuds/ericsonclan
Summary: Sophie is finally feeling more at home with the Ericson Pirates when she receives a grim reminder that things don't change so easily.
Series: A Pirate's Life For Me AU [30]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1683673
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	The Price of Instinct

**Author's Note:**

> (By Linnea)

Sophie felt groggy as she forced herself to get out of the hammock. It had been a really busy week for life at sea. But it had been fun nonetheless. A few months had passed since she had joined the Ericson Pirates and while the first few weeks had been rough at times it seemed that Sophie was finally starting to belong. 

Every member of the crew was more open and friendly with her, even the few that had every reason to still doubt her. But instead of holding on to their suspicions they had given her a chance and she couldn’t help but feel touched by it. They were far from the type of pirates that Sophie had been forced to join all those years ago. They were kind and truly cared about each other’s well being yet were also smart and impressive in their skills, never letting their kindness become their weakness. Their code seemed to have saved the crew members as much as the lives they refused to take. They were good as gold.

Sophie’s footsteps echoed through the lower decks, her eyes still adjusting to the light. She needed to get to the upper decks and see if there was any way she could help out before getting to her morning chores. Unsurprisingly there was, yet it seemed to be less drastic than Willy had made it out to be when he came scampering towards her. 

He told her that Garbage had refused to come down from the crow’s nest. When she asked him how she had gotten up there, he simply stated that he had helped her up but now since she was in one of her ‘moods’ he needed an extra pair of hands to help carry the chum. The two climbed the ropes, getting up to the crow’s nest in no time flat.

“It’s okay, Garbage,” Willy leaned forward with a pile of chum that he had taken from Sophie’s hand. 

It smelled awful; Sophie turned her face away in hopes that it would make it more bearable. “You almost got her? This chum smells like a fish died in a pile of shit,” Sophie felt her stomach turn from the smell.

“Almost...” Willy whispered before giving a cheerful cry when Garbage scratched her way into his arms. “Got her!”

The two made their way down along with the possum. Sophie landed before Willy, helping him get down with his pet.

“Thanks, Sophie!” Willy called back at her while he made his way to his morning chores.

“No problem,” Sophie lifted her hands up to her face, wincing in disgust at the smell. She definitely needed to wash her hands before helping Omar with breakfast. After a few washes, Sophie was  
satisfied with the non-fishy smell of her hands and made her way towards the ship’s kitchen. Omar stood in the back carrying over a sack of food.

“Sorry I’m late,” Sophie ran over to the stools, pausing when she noticed who was on breakfast prep with her. Clementine looked up from her task and gave a small smile before motioning to the empty stool beside her. Sophie took the spot and grabbed the first apple to peel. 

The two sat in silence for a minute, neither really sure what to say. Clementine had been the one of the most suspicious of Sophie when she first joined which Sophie always thought was fair, but now that they were starting to trust each other it made things feel awkward in a different way, neither of them sure how to progress. Clementine slowly turned the blade that took the bright red skin off the apple when all of the sudden Sophie’s stomach growled. Sophie paused in her task, a bit embarrassed by her reaction to being in the kitchen.

“Excited for breakfast?” Clementine glanced over at Sophie then resumed her carving. 

“Yeah, Omar’s cooking really is great. Easily the best that I’ve had in my life,” An excited smile appeared on Sophie’s face at the thought of food. 

“Shit!” Clementine’s voice drew Sophie’s attention, immediately picking up on what had happened. Clementine clutched her hand where a slow stream of red slipped out of her thumb. 

“Clem, are you okay?” Sophie put aside her task and moved towards Clementine.

“I’m fine!” Clementine snapped, her face looking annoyed at Sophie’s concern before it fell. “I’ll be back. Just gonna let Ruby look at this.” 

Clementine disappeared out of the room, leaving Sophie alone and confused by what had just happened. She couldn’t shake the feeling that somehow the cut on Clementine’s thumb had something to do with her. 

The rest of the day’s chores flew by without a hitch, giving Sophie some free time in the afternoon. Which meant... a small smile grew on Sophie’s lips. _Sparring._ Sophie moved to get the barrel of practice swords, so caught up in the task that she had failed to see that everyone else seemed to be busy. Her eyes searched the deck, wondering if any of them would really be up for a match. Her eyes stopped when they noticed Prisha who seemed to have just gotten a break herself. The two had never had a real sparring match yet though they had been thrown into a battle or two together. Maybe, just maybe, Prisha would be willing to spar. With that thought in mind, Sophie made her way over to the pirate. “Prisha?” 

Sophie’s voice caused Prisha to glance behind her before turning round.

“If you wouldn’t mind, could you spar with me?” 

Prisha gave the question some thought; her eyes seemed conflicted. Sophie was about to take back the request when Prisha spoke up. “Alright, but I won’t go easy on you,” Prisha walked past  
Sophie and picked up a practice sword. 

Sophie quickly ran over and grabbed her own two swords. “That’s fine with me,” She got in her fighting position and waited for Prisha to follow suit before she rushed forward. Sophie swung her right blade towards Prisha’s side which was immediately blocked. _She really is fast with her defense._ Sophie backstepped, sliding a few paces and giving her mind a moment to formulate a plan.

She would need to tire out Prisha with constant flurries of attack until her defense cracked. Prisha didn’t give her more than a few seconds to think as she dashed forward, positioning her feet firmly on the deck and giving a heavy attack towards Sophie’s right side. Sophie crossed her blades, blocking the attack before pushing back. Taking advantage of the few seconds that Prisha was off balance, Sophie lunged, her right blade towards Prisha’s chest. It was parried easily but Sophie wasn’t done. With a mighty swing, she aimed her left sword towards Prisha’s leg. 

It seemed like it was going to connect when Prisha jumped back, disappearing from the sword’s range. Immediately Prisha closed the distance between them and tried to land a blow towards Sophie’s gut. Sophie blocked it once again with her dual blades, quickly wrapping Prisha’s blade between her swords and tossing Prisha back. Prisha stumbled on her feet before her gaze turned upward where she saw Sophie towering. A confident smirk appeared on her lips, sure that this blow would land as she raised her right blade. Sophie’s eyes danced with pride while the mast blew behind her in the wind.

 _No, not again._ Prisha felt her heartbeat quicken and her hand shake as she swung out towards Sophie, putting all her force into this single attack. Her wooden blade found Sophie’s ribcage, connecting against it with a disturbing crack. Sophie’s face twisted in pain, her swords dropping immediately. Her feet stumbled behind her, causing her to crash against the mast where a loose nail skimmed her forehead, tearing open her flesh and causing a gnarly gash to appear. Sophie felt all the weight leave her legs, making her fall onto the ground. Her hand gently tried to touch the place of impact when a sharp, tender pain shot through her body. 

Prisha was frozen in her spot, her breath uneven and shaky as her mind tried to get out of the headspace she was in. It was only when a few of the crewmembers stepped forward that she seemed to snap out of it. 

“Prisha, what the hell happened?” Violet ran over to stand beside her. 

Prisha wasn’t sure how to answer. She didn’t know what happened until she looked towards Sophie who had moved herself against the mast. Prisha’s eyes widened in horror at what she had done.

“Sophie! Are you okay?” Brody kneeled down beside her, looking worried at the amount of blood leaving the wound. 

“Sophie!” Prisha moved to stand in front of her. “ I’m so sorry, I don’t know what overcame me. When you raised your blade, I thought…” Prisha’s words were stuck in her throat, unable to finish the sentence. Her eyes were swirling with regret, her face covered with an apologetic expression.

 _“I thought you were Minnie.”_ Sophie looked up at Prisha. She was sure that was what Prisha would say if she had finished her sentence. Even though Prisha and the others were warming up to her and becoming her friends, it didn’t change the facts. Minnie had scarred this crew in more ways than one. Every so often Sophie would remind them of her. 

“Don’t,” Sophie hissed in pain, “Worry about it. Just instinct, right?” _It makes sense that instinct would take over when you saw the same face._

“It doesn’t justify my actions,” Prisha shook her head.

“I’ll go get Ruby,” Brody ran off, followed closely behind by Violet. Leaving Prisha and Sophie alone. 

“Didn’t say it did. Just that it’s okay. I know you didn’t mean it.” Sophie forced a smile that clearly didn’t convince Prisha at all. She was about to reply to Sophie’s statement when footsteps stomped behind them.

“Good Lord,” Ruby ran over and leaned down to check on the gash on Sophie’s head. “Mitch, Brody, help me get her below decks,”

“Holy shit!” Mitch started to place Sophie’s arm over his shoulder. “What the fuck happened to you?”

Sophie winced, giving a shaky breath. Something definitely broke in that fight. “Got my ass kicked by Prisha in a sparring match,” 

“I can see that,” Mitch tried to give a smirk but his eyes betrayed him, consumed with concern.

Mitch and Sophie continued to talk with worried commentary by Brody as they passed Prisha who still seemed shaken by what had happened. 

“Place her down there,” Ruby instructed to which Brody and Mitch immediately followed, gingerly placing Sophie down in a chair. Ruby shooed the others out before turning her attention back to Sophie. Slowly she lifted up Sophie's shirt, revealing a splotch of yellows and purples that covered a good part of her side. Sophie looked down and flinched from the discomfort as Ruby examined it. 

“Prisha definitely gave you a beating,” Ruby shook her head in disapproval. “What in tarnation made her wallop you like this?”

“I reminded her of Minnie,” Sophie whispered, lifting her head to help Ruby get a clearer view of the cut. Ruby began to clean the wound, giving a quick glance down at Sophie’s eyes which seemed pained by her own statement.

“She said that? That you remind her of Minerva?”

“No, but I can just tell. Whenever one of the crew members acts differently around me-” Sophie took a shaky breath when Ruby applied the alcohol to clean the wound, “I know it’s because I remind them of my sister. Who can blame them… we share the same face.” The price to pay for being an identical twin. It seemed like it would always remain this way no matter how fond Sophie grew of the crew or they grew of her.

“That don’t mean you’re the same person though,” Ruby moved to grab the needle and thread for stitches. Her fingers slowly worked to get the thread through the needle. “All of us know that you're a kind, thoughtful person. You’d never mean us any harm like...” Ruby caught herself before she finished the sentence. 

“My sister,” Sophie felt sick at her own words. Even though Minnie had caused them so much pain, Sophie felt like deep down her sister - the gentle, caring person whom she loved - was still in there. “But I’m not… a good person.” Sophie winced when the needle pulled through the first stitch. “Not before I met you guys. I did a lot of fucked up shit. So maybe I deserve-”

Ruby grabbed Sophie by her shoulders. “Stop that kind of thinking. All of us have made mistakes in the past, but that doesn’t mean it's who we are. Ericson Pirates stick together no matter what!” 

Sophie was taken aback by the fierceness in Ruby’s tone and eyes. She remained quiet, not sure what to say in reply. 

Ruby searched her eyes for a moment before resuming the stitches. A quiet, sad air filled the room while Ruby continued to stitch up Sophie's face. Sophie felt tears threaten to escape her eyes. It hadn’t been the first time that one of the crew had told her this: that she was a good person. Sophie’s thoughts moved back to the sparring match. Her mind replayed the frightened look on Prisha’s face as she swung out desperately at Sophie. The pain and fear she had seen in the different crew members’ eyes always stuck with her.

“There, that should do it. I can’t do much now for your side though until we reach the next town,” Ruby noted apologetically to which Sophie waved a hand. 

“You’ve done plenty,” Sophie gave a small smile and moved to open the door to make her way to her hammock, hoping to ease the pain with some rest. Her hand froze, however, when a thought entered her mind. _How many more times will they mistake me for her?_ A tear escaped, sliding down Sophie’s face. Ruby hadn’t seen it since Sophie had already left the room, sliding against the wall to get to the sleeping quarters.

_How long will I have to carry Minnie’s sins along with mine?_


End file.
